VOL. 100 – ISSUE 23
THE TRUMPET
APRIL 29, 2021
WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
WLU’s Student News Source
MADFEST 2021 concludes with virtual ceremony announcing winners - pg. 3
Women’s tennis secure spot in playoffs; Men’s tennis qualify despite tough loss - pg. 14 @WLTrumpetOnline @thetrumpetwestliberty @thetrumpetwlu
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THE TRUMPET
NEWS
WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
COVER BY: SAMANTHA SNYDER
CULTURE SPORTS
Graphic By: Samantha Snyder
West Liberty celebrated Constitution Day with a debate between faculty members - pg. 5
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
Senior project includes documentary in honor of The Trumpet’s 100th year anniversary - pg. 8
Hilltopper softball continues to impress against Wheeling and Fairmont State - pg. 13
THE TRUMPET
The Student Voice of the Hilltop
The Trumpet’s mission is to provide WLU students of all majors an opportunity to learn how to gather and present news information to the campus community, and to serve the campus community with fair and accurate reporting on matters of significance and interest.
EDITORIAL STAFF This is The Trumpet’s last publication for the spring 2021 semester. We will remain active on our website and socials throughout the summer, so be sure to follow us! On behalf of all The Trumpet staff, we wish each Hilltopper a happy and healthy summer break. See you in the fall!
Editor-in-Chief Annalise Murphy Online Editor Creed Kidney News/Copy Editor Intern Lizzy Griffith Culture Editor Morgan Kafana Opinion Editor Haley Blakemore Sports Editor Intern Anna Johnston Graphic Designer Intern Katlyn Roberts Graphic Designer/ Illustrator Samantha Snyder Sports Writer Maxwell Fledorczyk News/Culture Writer Emma Beatty Faculty Adviser Danielle Mehlman-Brightwell
Letters to the Editor
To submit a letter to the editor, please email anmurphy@westliberty.edu. Please list your name, address, phone number, and email address; if the piece is published, you will be contacted to confirm your identity.
Contact Us
wltrumpet@westliberty.edu - (304) 336-8873
NEWS
APRIL 29, 2021
NEWS
News/Copy Editor Intern: Lizzy Griffith
- elgriffith@westliberty.edu
PAGE 3
MADFEST 2021 concludes with virtual ceremony announcing winners egories: traditional, digital, audio and video. Here are the winners of the 21st annual MADFest competition. WLU’s annual Media Art and Design Festival and Competition (MADFest) concluded last Friday, April 23, 2021 with a virtual awards ceremony video announcing all the winners for each category. President Evans started out the video congratulating all who participated in the 2021 competition saying, “Our arts programs are cutting edge, and we hope that you will consider joining us here on the Hilltop once you’ve graduated from high school.” Each year around January, MADFest invites W. Va., Pa., and Ohio high school students to enter their work into the competition within the following four cat-
Graphic By: Samantha Snyder Topper the Bear watching MADFEST Video
Starting out with the traditional category, Kalee C. Ross won first-place with the piece titled “Painful Plees”. Jaggar Dyrlund won first place for the digital category with his piece titled “Lightning Blue”. In addition, Dyrlund was chosen as the “Faculty Choice” winner by the WLU Faculty and will be receiving a scholarship to attend WLU. The first-place winner for the audio category went to Rowan MollenKopf with the piece “Amber Aphrodite”. The winner of the video category went to Aiden Keller with the piece called “Drug Awareness Video: Opioids”. Keller’s video was also voted “Best in Show” by the 2021 jurors. As a result, Keller will receive a $250 gift card on behalf of the WLU Foundation as well as a scholarship to attend WLU. To view all of the work from the winners and runner-up’s for this year’s competition, please visit westliberty.edu/madfest/2021-winners/. The 2021 MADFest jurors included Mark Ott, who judged the audio and video categories, and Jacinda Walker, who judged the digital and traditional categories. Ott is a director of broadcast operations with Broadcast Management Group, and he also started his career working on the Jerry Springer show, where he produced five episodes per week. Walker is from Cleveland, Ohio and has
Jaggar Dyrlund - Lightning Blue Drylund’s piece pictured above was chosen as the Faculty Choice winner. Drylund will recieve a scholorship to attend West Liberty. over 20 years of industry experi- all the students who submitted ence in design. For more informa- work. “It’s easy to make an intertion on these jurors, please visit esting video when you are prothe 2021 Guest Juror Bios web- vided with good content and I site. applaud the many students who submitted their work.” The WLU student design team for this year’s competition Being sure to give credincluded: Jub Delbrugge, Connory it to all who participated in the Eisen, Jamie Fogle, Abbie Henry making of the video, Thompson and Karleigh Kowcheck. mentioned a special thanks to Dr. Harder who created the music As mentioned earlier, used in the video. “It [the music] the awards ceremony was held definitely takes it [the video] to virtually again this year due to the next level.” COVID-19 and social distancing regulations. The producer for Ultimately, Thompson the video was Jared Thompson, continued sharing his experience WLU’s creative video director for with producing the MADFest the office of marketing and brand awards ceremony video saying, he management. is “thankful to be able to contribute to the event in a small way,” Reportedly, Dr. Matthew and he thinks the competition is Harder, WLU’s Dean for the Col- “a golden opportunity for West lege of Arts and Communication Liberty.” and member of the MADFest planning team, reached out to For more information Thompson to create an awards about this year’s MADFest comvideo. Thompson gave credit petition, please visit westliberty. for the strength of the video to edu/madfest.
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APRIL 29, 2021
NEWS
New concentrations coming for the communications department in fall 2021 WLU’s College of Arts and Communication is offering three new concentrations for students wanting a bachelor’s degree in media communications which begins fall 2021. The three new concentrations are journalism-public relations, design production and media production. The Bachelor of Science degree in Media Communications (BS) at WLU is a 120-credit hour program. The program will include 26 credit hours of required communications core, 21 credit hours of media arts foundation and 37 credit hours in general studies in one or two of the concentrations. Students in the media communications degree must choose one of the above concentrations. Students have the option to choose a second concentration or they may choose electives (which can include a minor) to total 120 credits. If a student wishes to take a minor, it must be from outside of the media communication program.
“Our new media communications program will provide our students with the necessary resources to adapt.” - Professor Ryan McCullough
Photo Credits: westliberty.edu The journalism-public relations concentration includes courses in broadcast news writing, writing for media and an on-campus internship in both journalism and public relations. Also, students will be involved in an advanced course selection in public relations and journalism, copyediting, proofreading, multimedia, social networking, sports writing and writing for the web and social media. The design production concentration includes courses in graphic design history, visual communications, photography, 2D foundation design and digital imaging. The media production concentration includes courses in audio production, television production, podcasting, remote production, news directing and producing as well as broadcast performance. These three new concentrations were created to provide students with hands-on foundation in media, production, writing, reporting, theory, research and media law and ethics. In addition, the program offers students experience in design thinking, video editing, computer graphics and visual critical literacy. Students have the choice of completing a capstone or internship; in addition, all students
will design a media portfolio their senior year. WLU provides hands-on experience for students in production, writing and promotion beyond the classroom through on-campus organizations and clubs such as Topper Station, WLU-TV 14, WGLZ and The Trumpet, the student-run newspaper.
as well.” Discussing how much media convergence has changed the media communication fields, McCullough shared, “We believe we have significantly strengthened our media program by preparing students for the world of media convergence. This is why I like the new concentration, and this is why it will benefit students.”
Current WLU communication professors offered their insights regarding these new concentrations as well as how they are going to better the university and students. Danielle Mehlman-Brightwell, instructor of communication, said “The media communications degree concentrations came at a perfect time since The Trumpet underwent a media convergence process this year. As faculty adviser of The Trumpet, students learn firsthand how a newsroom functions from newsworthy story assignments, conducting interviews, writing/reporting, copyediting, layout/design thinking, production/ publication to disseminating information on social media, website and Issuu.”
As of right now, there are “clear walls and boundaries” between broadcasting, journalism and public relations; however, the new media communications degree “seeks to break down those walls”, according to McCullough. One aspect McCullough really likes about these new changes is how students interested in public relations will be able to gain experience in design, and students in journalism will gain experience with public relations.
Another professor in the communications department, Ryan McCullough, offered some of his insights regarding these new concentrations. “In a field like media, you have to adapt to changes. These changes reflect an adaptation to the media environment and will prepare students to adapt to those changes
“Our new media communications program will provide our students with the necessary resources to adapt,” said McCullough. For more information, please contact Annalise Murphy at anmurphy@westliberty.edu. Murphy will be able to put you in contact with those within the communications program for any questions you may have. Students interested in the media communications degree should begin applying now for fall 2021.
NEWS
APRIL 29, 2021
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West Liberty celebrated Constitution Day with a debate between faculty members knowledged that “of course some views might be unpleasant, unpalatable, or deeply disrespectful,” but held that limiting free speech on a university campus would only add to the divisions which already exist in our current society.
On April 21, West Liberty University celebrated Constitution Day. Political Science Professor, Dr. Brian Fitzpatrick, moderated a debate between faculty members about a proposed resolution to the restriction of free speech on college campuses. Dr. Aaron Harper and Dr. Angela Rehbein argued in support of the resolution while Professor Ryan McCullough took the opposing stance.The debate was open to all WLU community members and was accessible via Zoom. The debate was lively with lots of back-and-forth between the participants and no clear frontrunner at any point throughout. Each side was given three minutes to give an opening statement which was then followed by ten minutes of open argument and then audience questioning. The audience was asked prior to the debate to indicate to Fitzpatrick what side they initially fell to and were asked the same question at the end. The initial response suggested that most were on the side of allowing unrestricted free
McCullough responded in opposition to the resolution arguing that university campuses are places where free speech should be somewhat restricted in order to allow the institution to be able to carry out its primary function as an educational facility to the highest possible level. “Forms of speech can interfere with knowledge advancement, scholarship, and knowledge attainment in learning,” said McCullough. He linked allowing free speech to the university legitimizing whatever is being said which would have the potential to disrupt the university’s academic goals. The 10 minute long open discussion was kicked off by Rehbein who countered McCullough’s insinuation that the university allowing free speech was the same as the institution legitimizing that speech.
Graphic By: Samantha Snyder
speech on university campuses. Harper made the opening statement in favor of the resolution that “any person or group should be allowed to speak on a university campus” arguing that it is the best way to have meaningful discussion, in a safe place, and uphold democratic values. This argument was largely founded in the work of the philosopher Hannah Arendt who advocated for free speech arguing that it was necessary in order to call out the views that conflicted with human rights – a view which developed out of her own family’s suffering at the hands of the Nazi regime in the 1930s. Harper ac-
She argued that the location or context of the speech was more important than McCullough suggested and noted that there is a significant difference between something being taught in a classroom in comparison to someone speaking on an open platform. McCullough’s response in the open debate made several good points including the potential opening up of opportunity for hate speech and the reinforcement that allowing all speech could hinder the educational goals of the university. A series of questions from the Zoom audience and Fitzpatrick continued to foster development on both sides of the argument but the fundamental elements remained the same for each party. Few audience members changed their initial stance leading Fitzpatrick to conclude the debate as a tie.
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APRIL 29, 2021
NEWS
WLU’s Jerry Duncan named WVATA Athletic Trainer of the Year WLU has another great accomplishment as Jerry Duncan has been named WVATA Athletic Trainer of The Year. Duncan is WLU Athletic Healthcare Administer and also Head Athletic Trainer. He has been chosen for this award from the W. Va. Athletic Trainer Association. The West Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association is a non-profit organization, representing and supporting 200+ members dedicated to enhancing the quality of health care and to advance the athletic training profession. The award is to recognize Duncan’s accomplishments with helping WLU throughout the pandemic by developing
and establishing protocols and procedures to meet the guidelines established by the NCAA and Mountain East Conference. Himself and his staff have led the way for WLU dealing with the crisis.
2011, starting with Wheeling University before moving over to West Liberty in 2013. He started as a Senior Athletic Trainer here at West Liberty before moving into his current position a year later.
Duncan has many accomplishments on his list. This is Duncans ninth season with the Hilltoppers, along with doing his other roles for four years. He is responsible for over 500 students plus staff as his Head Athletic Trainer role. Duncan has also spent six years as an athletic trainer for the Wheeling Nailers, a minor-league hockey affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Duncan played football in New Kensington, Pa. at NCAA Division II Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Mercyhurst and a master’s degree in Athletic Training from West Virginia University. Duncan mentioned to me that he is extremely grateful for being chosen for this award. “I was shocked and grateful when I was told that I
He has also been employed as head athletic trainer for the Ohio Valley Greyhounds of the National Indoor Football League and head athletic trainer for the Bellaire School District. He has been working with colleges since
Photo Credits: westliberty.edu
was getting the award,” says Duncan. “I also felt a little confused, because although I worked extremely hard this year, I know every athletic trainer did and wished they could all share it with me.” Duncan will be sharing this award with Fairmont State University’s Bob Cable. Both honorees have received their awards at the WVATA Business Meeting on Sunday, April 18. For any questions regarding this article or additional information, please reach out to Katlyn Roberts at kmroberts1@westliberty.edu.
CULTURE
CULTURE APRIL 29, 2021
Culture Editor: Morgan Kafana
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- mkafana@westliberty.edu
Alumnus Andy Grindle writes about his teaching experience in his new book, Letters to a Future Teacher
College students often wonder how their degree will prepare them for their future jobs. Alumnus Andy Grindle decided that in the summer of 2020 he wanted to write about his experiences as a public-school teacher over the last four years. Grindle attended West Liberty University between the years of 2014 and 2017, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education in grades K through 12. Both photos were provided by Andy Grindle
After earning his degree, Grindle moved to Florida where he began teaching middle school music. He chose to begin writing his first book to help first year teachers to emotionally prepare themselves for the realities of what it’s like to actually meet students and amplify their agency and voice. Grindle’s primary inspiration for his book, “Letters to a Future Teacher,” came from his many days during his first two years as a teacher where he felt lost. “There were days I felt isolated from the world because I was so focused on helping my students,” said Grindle. Letters to a Future Teacher contains poetry and prose that are dedicated to any past, present and future teachers to reference their tough days in the classroom. Grindle added that this book is for, “the ones that may require just sitting in your car for 30 minutes before going inside and having a good cry, only to realize that they aren’t alone in this fight.” G r i n d l e ’s book also contains letters written by a few of his mentors. These letters center around the theme of helping new teachers understand the importance of self-
care and developing strong senses of empathy for themselves and others around them. Currently, Grindle is working on writing a children’s book which is untitled at the moment and is geared more towards middle school students. His hope is that his current students will read his book with their parents and begin conversations of how both child and parent can communicate with each other in their challenging years. “Letters to a Future Teacher” will be available for purchase on Grindle’s website, andygrindle.com on May 1, 2021. Congratulations Andy Grindle on this inspirational achievement!
“There were days I felt isolated from the world because I was so focused on helping my students.” - Andy Grindle
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APRIL 29, 2021
CULTURE
Senior project includes documentary in honor of The Trumpet’s 100th year anniversary West Liberty University’s newspaper, The Trumpet, recently celebrated its 100th year of publication. In honor of this milestone, Branson Sawinski is creating a documentary for his senior project. Sawinski has worked with several professors, students, and Trumpet alumni in order to bring this project to life. Sawinski is the creative director for the documentary, so he oversees all footage that will eventually be edited into a final project. Sawinski says,“I have worked closely with Professor Mehlman-Brightwell, my senior project Professor Moonjung Kang, the documentary editor Heather Hale, and my mentor Jared Thompson to keep everyone up to date and to make sure any and all info is clear while getting feedback along the way.” He went on to say, “I have created the synopsis, storyboard and overall layout to begin the process in an organized manner and have utilized Google Drive.” Sawinski shared that he has conducted several interviews with current and previous members of The Trumpet for the documentary, some of which have taken place during a class taught by Professor Mehlman-Brightwell.
He also says, “I have captured additional footage for B-Roll and the introduction of the documentary. The editor and I have gone back and forth in editing the documentary as well.” Sawinski shared that his ultimate goal for the documentary is to “create a quality documentary to such a degree as to satisfy not only the client, but my professors as well.” Professor Mehlman-Brightwell says, “Students in my COM 322 class assisted Branson Sawinski with the preproduction of the documentary by interviewing former Trumpet staff alumni: Gabrielle Blanchard (2020 graduate), Jalyn Bolyard (2018 graduate), Maureen Golick (2005 graduate), and Chana Diehl-Baker (2000 graduate).” Sawinski also interviewed Ronald Reynolds (1994 graduate), Yijing Shen (2019 graduate), and Dr. David Hanna (1993 graduate). Because of this senior project being so time-consuming and holding such an importance to the WLU community, Sawinski has found the project to be stressful at times, yet a great learning experience. He says, “The experience I gain from this is very valuable. Not only does it show my knowledge in video production but is a good demonstration of my organizational and leadership skills all while improving upon those.” Sawinski went on to share what he discovered about The Trumpet while working on this project. “I learned quite a bit about the Trumpet itself and was surprised to know its history went back as far as it does. Like this documentary, the Trumpet is also a place to learn and improve upon all sorts of valuable skills which will help in a future career.” The documentary will be available this summer on TopperStation.
Photo Provided by: Danielle Mehlman-Brightwell Footage from The Trumpet documentary. Branson Sawinski, creative director (top row), Chana Diehl-Baker, 2000 graduate and Ronald Reynolds, 1994 graduate (second row), Jalyn Bolyard, 2018 graduate; Gabrielle Blanchard, 2020 graduate; and Yijing Shen, 2019 graduate (third row); Maureen Golick, 2005 graduate and Dr. David Hanna, 1993 graduate.
“Like this documentary, the Trumpet is also a place to learn and improve upon all sorts of valuable skills which will help in a future career.” - Branson Sawinski, Creative Director
CULTURE
APRIL 29, 2021
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Dr. Angela Rehbein comments on WLU’s first-ever virtual Hughes Lecture Series In celebration of National Poetry month, Scott Hanna hosted the first virtual 2021 Hughes Lecture on Wednesday, April 21. Many long poems were spoken by W.Va. poet Laureate Marc Harshman, Ohio poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour and Frank X. Walker, founder of the Affrilachian poets. If you want to experience these poems you can go to the Topper Station website. Their performance was inspiring and emotional. The Hughes Lecture series started in 1970 as a result of an endowment gift from Dr. Raymond Hughes. Hughes was a faculty member of West Liberty University for 39 years. The West Liberty University Foundation
manages the fund and tries to fulfill his intent of the lecture. If you are interested in being a donor to contribute to these types of programs to West Liberty University Foundation go to, wlufoundation.org. Their poems consisted of personal experiences and today’s history. Gunter-Seymour is the first to speak. She writes from her sense of place and her experience of the pandemic. Her poems felt close to home and a shared slice of life. Walker spoke next. Some of his poems were personal and commented on racism. His poems made the audience do a double-take. He gave his take on what’s going on in time gives perspective and gives the poem more spirit. Harshman spoke about the pandemic and other experiences. His last poem in particular blew me away. Dr. Angela Rehbein, the Associate Professor of English, said, “I
want to reinforce what one of the poets, Kari Gunter-Seymour, said during the question and answer period: artists and writers tell the truth about the times in which we live. In my view, we need these truth-tellers now more than ever. All three poets demonstrated how vital poetry is for making sense of difficult times, places, and circumstances. They also showed us how to seek out joy and remain human in the face of difficulty. What could be more important?” Poetry can be found on social media and other parts of the internet, like Google Books, if you don’t want to go to a bookstore. I don’t know many people inspired by poetry, but if they took the time to find the right poets, I believe they would change their minds. Poetry gives readers another person’s view combined with your own, creating a safe space in your mind to reflect. Whether a poem is goofy or serious, you can almost always take something away from the
Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons experience. If you don’t dabble in poetry, I recommend watching this lecture because it only inspired me to make and read more poetry.
“...artists and writers tell the truth about the times in which we live. In my view, we need these truth-tellers now more than ever.” - Dr. Angela Rehbein
APRIL 29, 2021
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CULTURE
WLU’s Chief Information Officer, Joe Rodella, featured in Trade Magazine with the help of the CARES Act. That saved us a total of $1,260,000. Joe Rodella, Chief Information Officer/Chief Operations Officer, gets a feature in Toggle written by Jason Pafundi. Toggle is a quarterly business-to-business trade journal. This feature explains how Rodella helped make on-demand classes with our university-developed digital television station, Topper Station, which usually broadcasts sports events. Using ZOOM to record is okay until you run into a storage problem. Rodella realized that if this storage would go over, bills would go up drastically like a phone bill.The first semester of the 2020-2021 school year, 5,000 classes were recorded. WLU received 90,000 student reviews of these videos. This smart solution saved money and time for students and professors alike. Turning 70 classrooms into hybrid capable classes that would usually cost about $20,000 for each classroom. West Liberty did this at $2,000 each
When dealing with professors, what they put out there is their intellectual property. So, when dealing with programs like Youtube, anyone can get that education for free. While these on-demand classes let only students watch. Classes that they want to keep will stay, while general classes will be deleted to keep classes fresh each semester. The OWL camera that you see now was originally supposed to be a camera called a Swivel, but it would have made the professors sit still. Professors seem to either sit or constantly pace, so that would have been a nuisance. The idea is to make the technology helpful for professors and students.
Students can watch on-demand classes anytime and more easily fit classes into their schedule. Rodella thinks that some students are better off with online education for their own reasons, while others will keep going in-class. This tool could be even more helpful if you work and have school. However, some professors might not like the idea of their classes being on-demand, since they comment on not seeing students on Zoom. Mark Cambell, the WLU photography professor, said, “On the negative side it is easy (especially depending on the size of the class) to lose track of students who either leave early or log on, but then “disappear” as they do not always leave their cameras on... I feel the biggest disadvantage to remote technology is the lack of true hands on learning. It can be very difficult from an instructors standpoint to need to demonstrate instead of direct an activity. From the student’s standpoint it can be very hard to truly grasp a concept without physically doing it under supervision.”
Photo Credits: westliberty.edu
On-demand classes could be at a disadvantage to those who
Photo Credits: westliberty.edu struggle with procrastination. Watching last minute will never work, especially if you don’t know how to note take at first. For people who can schedule themselves, on-demand classes will be an advantage for sick days and other personal reasons. Rodella explains that his job is to make sure that wherever technological changes happen, everyone is affected in a positive way. Rodella said, “It’s my job to present the educational leadership with options. Here’s a different way to do this...My real function is to create a vision for technology and information and execute on it...I was fortunate enough to be promoted last year to Chief of Information Officer. So, to me that means it’s my responsibility to make sure the apartments around me understand that when they need something technological that they understand the collateral positives and negatives to the apartments around them.” If you have any questions you can contact Rodella by email, joe. rodella@westliberty.edu.
OPINION
APRIL 29, 2021
OPINION
PAGE 11
Learning and Student Development Center offers a guide for graduates On April 20, 2021, West Liberty University’s Learning & Student Development Center posted to their Twitter account (@ WLU_LSDC) a resource from Inceptia, a website for students and schools alike aiming to “uncomplicate financial aid” and support them in conquering “financial aid barriers, loan anxiety, financial education, delinquency and default,” for their upcoming grads of the class of 2021. The graphic reads, “Way to go, class of 2021! Congratulations! Your years of hard work and perseverance have paid off, and now is the time to celebrate your accomplishments – we commend you! We also know that you may have a lot of questions and feelings of uncertainty about your future. Now, more than ever, it’s important to become financially informed and empowered.” The advertisement announces its creation of the “Great Advice for Grads 2021” e-guide and details some of its contents. Including, but not limited to, how to start an emergency fund, financial management, maturity and responsibility, general financial advice and how to go about choosing the Photo Credits: Pixabay
right health plan and insurance for that will go on sabbatical to rest and yourself as a young adult. relax as they recuperate from their studies, but they all need life skills. The graphic concludes on a perfect summary of their mission Yes, some of these skills and as a company and the publication’s the knowledge that comes with intent; “The world will always pres- them are gained throughout being ent challenges; taking the time now a college student, or just simply by to get a (developed) strategy and growing up and becoming an adult; (sense of) resilience is the best gift but where are the packets shared you can give yourself.” The specific by universities on self-help, keeping post in question that shares the ad up with your mental and physical can be found here, as well as a di- health, practicing emotional awarerect download and reading link for ness and just how to look for a a copy of “Great Advice for Grads good affordable apartment? 2021” here. So, to the grad student While financial guidance is reading this, firstly, congratulations, surely welcome by these up-and- you did it! You deserve to be imcoming graduates, and any college mensely proud of yourself. Wherstudent in general I can’t help but think that I’d rather be enlightened on ways to simply live a healthy and fulfilling life as an adult on the brink of entering into an entirely new world – that is the working and adult world. Of course, some of these graduates will go on to pursue even further education while others enter directly into the workforce. There are also those of the group continuously gaining popularity and momentum,
Photo Credits: Pixabay
ever the world may take you, or wherever you choose to go, I do encourage you to take heed of these financial advice packets. It’s a great thing to have in your back pocket, but what I implore you to do? Go get a self-help book from the library, talk to some mentors, past professors even, on how they made it, the choices that they made, how they made them and if they would do it differently. You’re on the brink of entering into something amazing; go into it wisely, and, above all else, take care of yourself.
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APRIL 29, 2021
OPINION
Finals week is stressful! Here are some tips to help you begin studying early now is the time to work on motivation. So how do you get over procrastination? Hoche explains her stance on procrastination, “If you’ve managed to get this far by using pressure to get over your procrastination, you should seriously rethink your life choices. There are a lot of things that can assist procrastinators, ranging from notebooks to apps to therapy, and that’s sometimes the only thing that works. You know what you have to do -- make a decision, make a plan, and stick to it.
Finals can be overwhelming when you don’t know how to schedule yourself. It’s just like anything else, chunk it. However, there are more efficient ways to study and, depending on the course, it might not be that simple. Use whatever works best for you with efficient study tips for the best result. Dominique Hoche, professor of English, explains that before you study there are technical issues to consider. Hoche said, “Determine whether the final is cumulative or non-cumulative. A cumulative exam means that it will not include any new material. If it is cumulative, then you will need to review what you have learned (or were supposed to learn) over the semester. What did you get right on your exams? Review those questions because they might come up again. What did you get wrong? Review those questions, figure out what went wrong, and fix it. Your professor will make notes as to what students get right and what they get wrong as a class, and quite often those problem questions are the ones that are chosen to come back up on the final exam,” Take note of what you have missed during class. This will minimize studying, so it’s not as overwhelming. Make a plan. You don’t want to end up studying for one test and ending up not studying enough for another because of it. Write it out on your phone or paper. She then goes on to explain the non-cumulative test, “If the final exam is non-cumulative, then you will be facing the task of reviewing new material. In that case, you need to find out if it is going to be the same as all the other
tests, or is it going to be somehow special? In the humanities, the final exam will often have two parts to it -- one part is similar to one of the regular exams held during the semester -- but the second part often includes a longer essay section which requires an additional amount of analysis. Be sure to ask your professor about what will be on the final exam -- but do not just say ‘what’s going to be on the exam?’ You need to ask a specific question: how many questions will it involve?” Hoche continued saying, “Fill in the blank, multiple-choice, short or long essay? Is there a hint you can give us as to what we should focus on? Or what we can avoid? Your professor likes specific questions. You might not get an answer, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.” If your exam is a final essay, make sure to check out the WLU Robinson Writing Center for idea generation, revision and tutoring. For grammar issues, you can visit sites like Grammarly. For citing, there are many sites to choose from. If you want some virtual instruction, Tiffany Fletcher, Program Director and Associate Professor of Psychology, suggests getting the most out of studying by watching videos given to students in PSYC
Photo Credits: Wikimedia Commons 101 introduction to Psychology. Fletcher gives a list of videos from Cognitive Psychologist Dr. Steven Crow’s “How to Get the Most out of Studying”: “Video 1: Beliefs that make you fail or succeed (6:50). Video 2: What students should understand about how people learn (7:14). Video 3: Cognitive principles for optimizing learning (5:45). Video 4: Putting together the principles for optimizing learning into practice (9:16).Video 5: I blew the exam, now what? (7:28)” This information is efficient only if you use your time well. Hoche suggests 3-hour-per-class study sessions. However, I don’t suggest doing it all at once. Chunking it still works in this situation. Dead week is the week before finals week. It’s supposedly the week where there are fewer assignments so you can study. However, be prepared to not have time. Study the weekend before or take the time to schedule everything out. Pressure and procrastination is not your friend in this situation. I’ve learned from personal experience that procrastinating even little things like scheduling can mess up your whole week or even your whole semester. Procrastination can also haunt you in your future career, so
Hoche talked a little bit about her own probelms with procrastination. Hoche said, “I have to fight my own tendencies to procrastinate, and I have developed my own tricks to defeat the evil beast. (For me, it’s making lists, and using Post-its! Literally! Everywhere!) You have to find out what works for you.” Scheduling, in general, is an important and essential tool for college students. Besides post-its and lists, you can schedule things out with reminders on your phone, a physical calendar, or a bullet journal. You may think that bullet journals are messy, but if you get done with what you need to do about three times a week you will never miss an assignment again. If you do choose this tip to use in the future, make sure that you check assignments and emails before you schedule.
Good Luck on your finals next week Hilltoppers!
SPORTS
SPORTS APRIL 29, 2021
Sports Editor: Anna Johnston
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- acjohnston@westliberty.edu
Hilltopper softball continues to impress against Wheeling and Fairmont State The month of April has simply been extraordinary for the West Liberty University softball team, and their series against Wheeling University and Fairmont State University were absolutely not an exception. April 7 began the road to riches for the Lady Hilltoppers, as they would eventually ride a twelve game win streak to April 18, catapulting their team up the ladder in the Mountain East Conference North division. With the streak coming to an unfortunate end against West Virginia Wesleyan College, West Liberty wasted very little time rushing back to the win column, and did so in rather dramatic fashion. When
a cross town arch-rival such as Wheeling University travels to the Hilltop, it goes without saying that there would be heated moments, and most importantly, the best competition.
Senior Mackenzie Amend took the pitching reins for the Hilltoppers in game one against Wheeling, and put the Mountain East Conference on notice. Amend was sensational, striking out nine while
failing to walk a single batter, and most importantly giving up zero runs in a complete game shutout victory. Amend picked up her fifth win of the season. The offense was not plentiful for the Hilltoppers in game one, but they did not need it, as a two run single by Annie Patterson in the bottom of the third proved to be more than enough to secure the victory. Game two for the Hilltoppers was even more exciting than its predecessor. Patterson was given the nod as the starting pitcher, and picked up right where Amend left off, striking out three. Although Riley Bennington secured the victory herself, it did not come without tension. With a tie game in the bottom of the seventh, an opportunity to walk it off for the Hilltoppers was presented to Katie Beeman, in which she found herself delivering. The sacrifice squeeze bunt proved to be the
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
difference maker, and the Hilltoppers were able to sweep the weekend series against the Cardinals. West Liberty continued to roll against Fairmont State University, in an absolutely critical series as the conference watched. In game one of this series, the Hilltoppers were able to secure the victory in perhaps the most dramatic fashion you could imagine. Down by one with a full count and two outs, Sidney Little delivered a go ahead single that would win it for WLU, with the final being 3-2. To make matters worse for Fairmont State, they would eventually drop the second game as well 6-1. With the Hilltoppers continuing to surge, they face an incredibly important series against Frostburg State University Monday afternoon.
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APRIL 29, 2021
SPORTS
Women’s tennis secure spot in playoffs; Men’s tennis qualify despite tough loss Contributing Writer: Mark Donnelly
Women’s tennis secure spot in playoffs
West Liberty’s women’s tennis team booked their place in the MEC Championships last weekend with a 7-0 win over rivals West Virginia Wesleyan College. This win took the Lady Toppers to a conference record of 4-2 for the season which leaves them in third place in the conference standings. Coming off the back of four straight losses, West Liberty were hoping to get back to winning ways with their first win of the month. In their last two conference match-ups, they took tough defeats against West Virginia State University and the University of Charleston, winning just one game across the two competitions. They got off to a much better start this time out though, winning two of three doubles matches to give themselves an early 1-0 advantage. Jacqueline Pena Aceves and Nathalia Valencia
took a 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles while Ishika Agarwal and Alex Olson were 6-4 victors at No. 3.
C o a c h Heather Gallagher’s Hilltoppers were dominant in singles action as they won all six games, meaning that they took home a 7-0 sweep over the Bobcats. What was even more impressive was that each of the Toppers’ six wins came in two sets, with none of them going to a tiebreaker set. This leaves West Liberty in a good position going into the MEC Tournament semi-finals this weekend, where they will be hoping they can continue their good form. They will enter the tournament as the #3 seed, meaning they will face off against the #2 seed, the University of Charleston. The semi-final matchup is set for this
Saturday, May 1 and action will get underway at noon at the Schoenbaum Courts in Charleston, WV. The Lady Toppers know that it won’t be an easy task to get past the Golden Eagles as they took a 6-1 defeat to them just a few weeks ago. They will be hoping to record their first win in this match-up since 2019 and progress to the conference final on Sunday, which will also start at noon. Men’s Tennis Qualify Despite Tough Loss
Despite taking a 6-1 defeat against West Virginia Wesleyan College, the West Liberty men’s tennis team has qualified for the upcoming MEC Tournament semi-finals. Boasting a 4-3 conference record for the regular season,the Hilltoppers progress to the postseason for a sixth consecutive season. It was an extremely challenging game for them on the day with the Bobcats turning out to be too strong for WLU in both singles and doubles play. Daisuke Aota and Isfan Makhumudov put the Toppers on the board with a win in the No. 2 doubles. However, this wasn’t enough to secure the doubles point for the team as Wesleyan won the remaining two doubles games to give themselves a 1-0 advantage.
Senior Anton Schulz was
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
the only Topper to put up a win in singles play after defeating his opponent in two straight sets, meaning that the Bobcats took home a 6-1 victory. Having recorded a 7-0 victory in the same fixture earlier in the season, the Hilltoppers will be disappointed with their performances and they will be looking to improve as they head into the conference tournament this weekend. Head Coach Ronald Hulewicz will be hoping that his side can rediscover some of their impressive form that saw them boost a 4-1 in-conference record at the beginning of the season and take home the conference title. If they were to become conference champions they would be the first West Liberty men’s tennis team to do so since 2016 and it would be a first under the management of Hulewicz. The Toppers will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed, meaning they will face off against regionally ranked University of Charleston. The matchup will get underway at 2.30 p.m. at the Schoenbaum Courts in Charleston, WV. For more information and updates on the tournament visit Hilltoppersports.com
SPORTS
APRIL 29, 2021
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WLU Baseball currently holds a 15-14 record It has been a middle of the road season so far for the West Liberty University baseball team. They currently hold a 15-14 record, just one game above the .500 mark. Although they have been quite stagnant on the season, the Hilltoppers have certainly shown flashes of brilliance, and the weekend series against Frostburg State University was certainly no exception. This series has had it all, including a come from behind victory in game one, along with a fantastic pitching performance in game two. This, along with what lies ahead, makes for a great finish down the stretch for the West Liberty University baseball team.
Following a 2-2 series split against Alderson Broaddus University last week, the Hilltoppers knew they had to gain some traction within the Mountain East Conference if they wanted to rise in the standings. The perfect opportunity presented itself thanks
to the heroics of Brian “Soup” Campbell. Game one against Frostburg started extremely rocky, as Frostburg found themselves holding a 6-2 lead entering the bottom of the fifth. Knowing they now faced a looming deficit, West Liberty rallied around RBI’s coming from Campbell, Colton Coss, Ty Helmke, Kaden Bloomquist, and Connor Fergurson. With the major propeller coming from Campell’s two home runs, the Hilltoppers were able to successfully complete the comeback, and stole a game from Frostburg State by the final of 8-6. Game two was simply a massacre for West Liberty, as the dominance was showing in full swing. West Liberty started the bats off strong in the bottom of the third, putting up a three run tally, which proved to be more than enough to put away FSU. However, the Hilltoppers wanted more, and they sure got it. With RBI’s coming from Coss, Matthus, Helmke, Campbell, Bloomquist, and Ross Salvatori, the Hilltoppers cruised to a 17-2 victory. Ian Brady took the mound for the Hilltoppers, and showed why he is one of the best in the business, striking out
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
five and walking one, all while picking up his sixth win of the season. The toppers take to the pitch again next weekend away to Fairmont State University as they head into the final stretch of the season. As it currently stands, West Liberty currently sits second in the Mountain East Conference North division standings.
Please visit Hilltopper Sports at hilltoppersports.com for all your Topper sports updates!
#proudtobeatopper
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APRIL 29, 2021
SPORTS
Men’s Golf earns regional bid after impressive performance at MEC championship Contributing Writer: Mark Donnelly
West Liberty University men’s golf team earned second place and a host of individual honors at the Mountain East Conference Championship last weekend at Avalon Lakes Golf Course in Warren, Ohio. Although the weather brought a pause to play over the weekend it did not halt the Hilltopppers’ performance on the course as they were just pipped by Davis and Elkins College in the team competition while all-region junior Alex Easthom won a sudden-death playoff to earn MEC Player of the Year honors and take home the championship medal. This second place team finish was a fitting end to the regular season for the Toppers after seeing success in every competition this year so far.
The performance was enough to earn the squad a place in the regional tournament for the seventh year in a row. The team will play in the Atlantic/East Regional Championship for the NCAA Division II from May 6 to May 8. The individual success on the Hilltopper team was also highly commendable with All-Region standout Easthom coming out on top against Davis and Elkin College’s Evan Lewis in a head-to-head competition. This cemented an incredible season for the junior Topper as he was named to the All-MEC first team and awarded the MEC Player of the Year Award to commend his performance in the 2021 season.
board to finish 6-over-par at 150 securing third place on the podium. Peterson joined Easthom in earning a spot on the All-MEC irst team. Freshman Bo Orecchio from New Concord, Ohio finished ninth in the medal chase in the MEC tournament and earned second team All-MEC honors as
well as being named freshman of the year for the Mountain East. The team will travel to North East Pennsylvania in a week’s time to compete in the regional tournament. Updates on the Hilltoppers progress throughout the course of the three days can be found on Hilltoppersports. com.
The Hilltop’s Athlete of the Week Alex Easthom
Easthom was not the only individual success story for the WLU men. Howard Peterson IV, a junior from Weirton, W. Va. put in an impressive performance on the day with a late surge up the leader-
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
Men’s Golf Year: Junior Hometown: Ravenswood, W. Va About Easthom: Easthom was named MEC Payer of the year and earned MEC First Team honors for the third year in the row. Three members of the team earned MEC honors this season. Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports
